school | Change Is Hard

I think it’s been about a thousand weeks in dog years since you’ve seen anything written by me! Mom keeps saying the world is bigger than me. But seriously. Does anyone believe that?

Anyway I thought I’d bring you up to date on what I’ve been doing. Which is pretty much always the same. Beg for supper beginning at 3:00 p.m. (sooner if I think my parents aren’t wearing watches).

Continue to beg until Mom gives in at 3:50.

Ask to go out. Eat snow instead of doing my job. Ask to go in.

Ask to go out to inspect my yard. Or bark at the neighbors. Whichever comes first.

*Initiating my early morning alarm in case anyone isn’t up yet.*

Sometimes I ask to go out very early in the morning. Sometimes mom is glad because she would have missed the sunrise.

Mostly she is not glad. Did I mention barking?

*Mom calls this her artsy image, titled “Dog in Snow.”*

She also has been taking me to school. She seems to need the stimulation and mind expanding exercise. I go along to supervise.

*I got extra treats to sit on this little stool that matched my leash.*

We took a short little class where I got lots of treats. I liked the treats part.

*I can do this, mom, if you just stay out of the way.*

We are back to doing Rally classes now that the holidays are over. Mom forgot to go the first week. She turned into a slacker without a schedule while we were out of school.

While we were there mom noticed the pretty photo opportunity, left from the last trial the week before. I wasn’t entered because mom says we are not ready.

*It’s a winter wonderland! Just like our backyard!*

I don’t know, mom, when are we going to be ready? I ask to go down to my basement every day and sometimes we do, just to practice our obedience. And get treats.

*This one is easy, mom, just don’t turn too close to the cone. Leave room for me!*

Mom says sometimes she thinks we’re ready and then I do something silly and she rethinks. There’s another trial in March. She thinks maybe she should try again.

*I think I’ve got it mom. You just have to trust me.*

But…will I be willing to work without treats in the ring? Mom’s been working on that…but she says I’m not reliable yet. Geeze mom, I’m only 3. Have you ever met a reliable 3 year old anything?

Other than school we’ve been playing in the snow. It snows all the time. The snow banks are bigger than me! Even the snow in my back yard is up to my shoulders.

I told mom I wasn’t going to run around and chase snowballs when the snow was that deep. Other dogs’ parents dig them a trail in the backyard to run around on. I suggested that to my mom. She looked at me and then we went inside.

I guess that’s not happening.

So let’s see…school….snow….supper. Yep, those are the three most important things going on in my life right now. The 3 S’s.

*And naps. Sleep, starting with S of course, is important!*

I hope you are all enjoying your winter. Mom says we could do with some sunshine so I reminded her of this day when the sun came out. She had forgotten. Sometimes the sun comes out here.

*I remember there was this one day when the sun came out…*

Hey! That’s another important S!

Talk later,

Your snow-girl, supper-hog and super all around ray of sunshine, Penny.

I have a bunch more bird pictures to edit. There are probably some good ones in there but I’m just not motivated. And if I don’t hurry up and get them done I’m pretty sure I’ll never do it. That would be bad because I have this rule that I can’t go out on a photo hunt if I haven’t even processed the ones I’ve already taken.

Silly rule.

Meanwhile, Penny and I have started back to school. It’s been almost a month since we’ve been in a class. I was concerned that she’d forgotten everything I’ve learned (she says she hasn’t learned anything other than how to manipulate me) and that I would have a wild child on my hands.

Turns out she was very happy to go do some Rally with me last Saturday morning at a scheduled fun match.

She got to see other dogs and do some fun stuff (her favorite thing is to fly over the jumps) and get treats and she especially likes it when people come by and tell her she’s beautiful.

I guess mom and dad don’t do that enough.

She did four runs on Saturday, 2 of them off leash. We’re still working on specific stuff, especially the no treats in the ring thing, but we both had fun. It felt good to get out together.

Monday night we started back at our regular Rally class. Two runs, both off leash, and she was a very good girl. She mostly focused on me instead of what was going on in the ring next to us, or within our own class members at the gate or coming or going out the back door.

And there was that jump she REALLY wanted to take, and we had to heel right past it. SO HARD!! But she did it both times. I was proud of her.

Today she did the cutest thing. I realized during school that I hadn’t worked with her in our basement at all during the weeks long holiday and that we could have been even better in class if I had spent that time with her. So this afternoon while I was out in the kitchen and noticed her treats, I asked her if she wanted to work.

She immediately grinned and ran to the top of the basement stairs, looking over her shoulder at me. We haven’t worked down there in over a month but she knew exactly what she wanted to do. So down the stairs we bounced and we worked on heeling and figure 8s and waiting and sitting and staying and coming and some other stuff. She’s very focused until she figures out mom doesn’t carry any treats.

The hardest thing for her was when we were heeling back toward the jackpot treats sitting up on a cabinet. I hadn’t intended to jackpot her then, we just happened to be going that way, and she broke heel to run to the jackpot and I said “no, come here” and she reluctantly did. And then we turned around and heeled away from the jackpot! OH NO!!!! But she stuck with me and at the other end of the room I released her and we both went back to get her jackpot.

*Yesterday’s walk at Katie’s park – with SUN!*

That was really hard for her. I told her she was a good girl. I should probably tell her she’s beautiful while I’m at it too.

Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Tag Archives: school

Hey! Does anyone remember ME?

What’s new in the new year?